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With Ride Along 2 out at the cinemas at the moment it seems like a good time to go back to the first film.

Many people were surprised to see that this film got a sequel because it didn’t go down with fans and critics as well as they might have hoped. But now looking back at the first film, is it worth watching and should you spend your hard earned money to go see the second?

The film Friday is a comedy starring the always energetic Chris Tucker and Ice Cube and is one of the most underrated, under watched films ever. It will have you laughing for most of the film but also has a deeper meaning to the film, making references to problems in urban neighbourhoods all around America.

The story starts with Craig (Ice Cube) losing his job at work, surprisingly on his day off! The film references this many times throughout the film and it creates some of the funniest moments in the film. Craig allegedly stole some boxes from work and when telling his best friend Smokey (Tucker), his friend replies, ‘What the fuck you doing stealing boxes’ and ‘You gotta be a stupid motherfucker to get fired on your day off.’

To solve their boredom the best friends chill out on their front porch and smoke weed while encountering many people which the director made perfectly as it seemed like these people that were introduced were like regulars on television shows because he cleverly but subtly included little pieces of information about these people without making them introduce themselves, for example even before we have seen Deebo we know he is basically playing the bully in the street as Smokey and Craig remove all their jewellery and hide any belongings he could take.

The story of the film is pretty weak and not a lot happens but then again not much does in any stoner comedies but there are many laughs and it’s a film to watch with a group of friends rather than with your girlfriend or parents. It is most definitely aimed at a male audience but I believe most people that watch this film will see that it is not trying to offend anyone and all the jokes are light hearted.

However, it does have a serious side to the film as it tries to tackle what life can be like in these sorts of neighbourhoods. When Craig’s dad (John Witherspoon) talks to him about how using a gun does not make you a man it has tried to appeal to young black men who are in gangs. ‘Kids too quick to pick up a gun, they scared of taking an ass whipping,’ although it is said in a comedy way, the message is still there and throughout the film Craig mentions that he is using the gun for protection but at the end of the film when he is fighting Deebo he decides to be a man and instead of shooting him he gives his dad the gun.

Another problem the film tries to tackle is men hitting women as Craig stands up for Debbie who was actually standing up for her sister because both of them got hit by Deebo and Craig tells Deebo you can’t hit women no matter what they have done.

The film has fantastic jokes and has a very well chosen cast which is surprising as Ice Cube previous to this had acted in the much more serious Boyz N The Hood played the role of Craig in a likeable way with charm and believability add this to Chris Tucker and his ability to turn any sentence virtually into a line of comedy gold and you have a winning combination

A lot can go down between Thursday and Saturday and this film proves that.